The pandemic has had an alarming effect on the increase of gender-based violence in the world. According to reports from the World Health Organization and independent protection programs in Latin America, the quarantine has confined thousands of women together with their aggressors, leading to a 60 percent increase in reports of abuse in the region. In response, some non-governmental organizations in Zulia have redoubled their efforts to protect the psychological well-being of women at risk. This is the first article in a series on the initiatives aimed at protecting the mental health of people in Zulia.
#LatimosEnQuarentena
Whenever they feel afraid, they give us a call. If a threat looms against their lives or violates their integrity, dozens of them pick up the phone to ask for help. This is the case of Juliana*, a 23-year-old girl who has gone through several episodes of gender-based violence during the quarantine. She does not ask for help to save her life, but she does receive therapy to heal her mental health.
—I need to talk to someone who does not expect anything from me and does not judge me, and I found that at the consultation. I expect to keep seeing her because I often feel that the situation is unbearable and I cannot carry on alone, at least from the emotional perspective. I need someone by my side in this process. I do not have enough emotional stability right now to go through this on my own.
Some women talk or chat in secret, stalked by their attackers and in fear of being discovered. Others do it from safe physical spaces, but from their stories, one can tell they have been abused. These women are victims of gender-based violence who refuse to become one more entry in the registry of femicides in the region and decide to get out of the spiral that has caused them so much pain.
They pray for a phone signal or enough battery in their cell phone to make the call on time. They rely on the phone network to find on the other end of the line someone willing to help them ensure their psychological or physical well-being.
Their calls are directed to Mulier (Latin for “Woman”), an NGO born in the state of Zulia in 2017 to make visible the reality of girls, teenagers, and women, put their needs on the public agenda, and promote solutions to guarantee their rights.
The organization’s work has decreased in recent months due to the crisis of fuel supply and public transportation and the collapse of public services in this region of western Venezuela. Its headquarters ceased to shelter the victims; its preventive training talks at several local universities were suspended, and its message is no longer heard on local radio.
However, these obstacles have not halted the support they provide to women in situations of risk, especially now that the number of cases of violence has grown exponentially in comparison to previous years.
137 murders of women and girls have been registered so far this year; 68 of them have occurred during the period of lockdown. Zulia ranks as the third state with the highest number of cases, with 12 women losing their lives to violence between January and June, according to the biannual report of the Femicide Monitor, which records the murders of women reported in digital media. The study is carried out by anthropologist Aimee Zambrano.
Experts confirm the alarming increase in fatalities and reports of physical, verbal, and psychological violence during the lockdown. They link this circumstance to the fact that women are confined in their homes with their aggressors, having nowhere to seek refuge.
From March 15 to July 15, Mulier has assisted 42 women through their telephone service, and 27 of them are receiving psychological attention from the team of therapists. The others have required face-to-face legal advice or police support and the team has channeled their need to other organizations, according to Estefanía Mendoza, coordinator of planning, programs, and projects at the organization.
Mendoza explains that the complex humanitarian emergency that the country is experiencing, and now the pandemic, has created a breeding ground for the increase in expressions of gender-based violence.
—The quarantine has impacted women at risk in very diverse and complex ways. Many are in conditions that imply a threat to their physical integrity and there is no place where they can seek shelter. In this context, we have been able to keep providing remote psychological assistance and even extend it to distant towns and states.
Verónica*, 19, is one of the beneficiaries of the service. She lived a history of violence that led her to need psychological support to overcome trauma. Continuing with her remote sessions during lockdown has been key to her healing process.
“After thinking about it for a while, I decided to attend Mulier‘s therapy. There, I felt in a safe environment for the first time,” She tells with excitement through a voice note. “The improvement in my mental stability has been impressive. I have grown as a person and I have overcome depression. These initiatives are essential for all women who need psychological support and do not have the means to pay for therapy.”
She is not the only beneficiary. The psychological support provided by the organization was key to the recovery of Sarah*, who was forced to return to Zulia, her home state, after experiencing violence from her former partner:
—I am 34 and I suffered from gender-based violence for two years. When I decided to break up with my partner, I realized I could no longer bear any more abuse. I had to flee to Maracaibo, and when I got there everything was very difficult. I cried every day, I had nightmares, I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was always afraid that he would show up, as he eventually did. Someone recommended psychological therapy, but I could not afford it. I tried to help myself on my own, but I saw no concrete improvement. Then a friend told me I could find help for free at Mulier. I contacted them and they were very friendly from the first moment. They referred me to a psychologist, who treated me very well, and I began my therapy process.
Estefanía Mendoza comments that the work carried out by organizations like Mulier is essential to safeguard the lives of many women in the country, since, in her opinion, the action of the State in matters of protection is virtually nonexistent in these times.
—The courts are not working; the police and the Public Ministry are not working at full capacity. Unfortunately, we cannot substitute, exclusively with counseling and psychological care, the work of these organs in the protection of women.
Experts further warn that collective psychological care will be essential even in the post-pandemic period. This is because many social groups, especially the most vulnerable, are going to experience emotional dissociation, alienation, and depersonalization as a result of the trauma they have experienced, especially women who have faced situations of risk and violence.
*The real names of Juliana, Verónica and Sarah have been changed to protect their identity.
Translated by: José Rafael Medina
